Home Office’s ‘1,000 armed police’ pledge broken

Police chiefs have persuaded only 650 new officers to bear arms; the target is 1,000BEN STANSALL

Theresa May is facing embarrassment after the government missed its target to boost the number of armed police on Britain’s streets.

The Home Office has failed to meet a pledge to train an extra 1,000 firearms officers by this month. The promise was rushed out after the Paris and Brussels terror attacks in 2015 and 2016, when May was home secretary, and was cited repeatedly last year to reassure the public after the Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge atrocities.

However, police chiefs have persuaded only 650 new officers to bear arms. One factor is said to be the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s insistence on treating armed officers as suspects each time they discharge weapons.

“These figures underline the reckless gamble the Tories took when…

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